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Posted by April 19, 2022 Migración No Comments

NUEVA REGULACION PARA ALQUILERES DE CORTO PLAZO

Con la entrada en vigencia de la Ley, marco para la regularización del hospedaje no tradicional y su intermediación a través de plataformas digitales y su Reglamento, se crearon nuevos derechos y obligaciones para los dueños de las propiedades, prestatarios del servicio, usuarios y empresas comercializadoras o intermediarias.

Todos aquellos que ofrezcan servicios de hospedaje no tradicional- o alquileres a corto plazo-, como rentar casas, apartamentos, villas, chalets, bungalós, cuartos, o cualquier otra construcción análoga, por periodos no mayores a un año, ni inferiores a veinticuatro horas.

Las personas físicas o jurídicas que comercialicen o intermedien en el alquiler de corta duración deberán inscribirse ante la Registro de Prestatarios y de Empresas Comercializadoras o Intermediarias del Servicio de Hospedaje no Tradicional ante el Instituto Costarricense de Turismo, que es la agencia gubernamental responsable de promover el turismo sostenible.

¿Existen beneficios por completar con este nuevo registro? Sí, existen diversos beneficios que otorga el Instituto Costarricense de Turismo, por ejemplo: a) Ejercer libremente su actividad; b) Obtener el Certificado de Sostenibilidad Turística; c) Acceder a las actividades de promoción turística del Instituto Costarricense de Turismo.

¿Cuáles son los requisitos legales para completar este nuevo registro? Los solicitantes deben rellenar un formulario electrónico (en español) disponible en www.ict.go.cr e incluir la siguiente información: a) Nombre social o físico de quien presta el servicio; b) Número de documento de identificación o de cédula jurídica; c) Nombre y número de documento de identificación del Representante Legal; d) Domicilio legal de quien presta el servicio; e) Provincia, cantón y distrito en los que se localiza el inmueble; f) Dirección exacta del inmueble; g) Número de habitaciones; h) Número máximo de huéspedes; i) Medio electrónico para recibir notificaciones; j) Página web; k) Número de teléfono.

La información debe ser llenada de manera precisa y correcta, para que el proceso sea aprobado prontamente, ya que estará sujeto a revisión. Previo a completar el formulario, es necesario el registro del usuario. Tenga en cuenta que se trata de un proceso administrativo legal sujeto a aprobación formal, por lo que puede ser necesario presentar recursos. No deje que cualquiera lo tramite por usted.

¿Cuáles son las condiciones mínimas que deben cumplir los servicios de alquiler a corto plazo? Para que los servicios de alquiler a corto plazo puedan operar, deben cumplir las siguientes condiciones: a) Limpieza periódica del inmueble; b) Ofrecer servicios sanitarios para el aseo personal, que incluyan al menos baño e inodoro; c) Mantenimiento de las instalaciones; d) Condiciones mínimas de salubridad e higiene; e) Contar con los recipientes necesarios para la separación y el manejo de residuos sólidos.

¿Existen obligaciones fiscales derivadas de la promulgación de esta nueva normativa? Es necesaria la inscripción como contribuyentes ante el Ministerio de Hacienda, emitir facturas electrónicas y contratar servicios contables mensuales para el pago de impuestos y la presentación de declaraciones fiscales.

¿Existe alguna restricción por motivos de zona para operar con alquileres de corta duración? Los alojamientos no tradicionales y los alquileres de corta duración, podrán operar en zonas residenciales, excluyendo la necesidad de tramitar una patente comercial.

¿Existen sanciones por no cumplir esta normativa? Ejercer esta actividad comercial sin estar debidamente inscrito ante el Registro de Prestatarios y de Empresas Comercializadoras o Intermediarias del Servicio de Hospedaje no Tradicional, es ilegal. El Ministerio de Hacienda, las Municipalidades y el Ministerio de Salud intervendrán y se impondrán sanciones por incumplimiento a la obligación de registro.

En Quatro Legal estamos a su disposición para ayudarle con el proceso de registro y proporcionarle el asesoramiento legal que necesita. Para más información puede contactar a Gonzalo Rojas en grb@quatro.legal o Ileana Fernández en ifm@quatro.legal.

Para más información útil, visite LA GUÍA LEGAL DE QUATRO en quatro.legal

 

 

 

 

Posted by April 19, 2022 Migration No Comments

NEW MANDATORY REGULATION FOR SHORT TERM RENTALS

With the entry into force of the Law for the Regularization of Non-Traditional Lodging and its Intermediation through Digital Platforms and its Regulations, there are new rights and obligations for property owners, service providers, users and marketing or intermediary companies.

All those who offer Non-Traditional Lodging – or Short-Term Rentals – such as renting house apartments, villas, chalets, bungalows, rooms, or any other similar construction for periods of no more than one year and no less than twenty-four hours are subject to new responsibilities.

Individuals or companies commercializing or intermediating short-term rentals must register before the Registry of Providers and Non-Traditional Lodging Service Commercialization or Intermediary Companies, created by the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism (ICT), which is the government agency responsible for promoting sustainable tourism.

Are there benefits to complete with this new registration? Yes, there are several benefits granted by ICT for those who complete the registry, such as: a) Authorization to freely exercise the short-term rental activity; b) Obtaining a Certificate for Sustainable Tourism (CST); and c) Gain access to the promotion activities organized by ICT.

What are the legal requirements to complete this new registration? Applicants must fill out an electronic form (in Spanish only) available at www.ict.go.cr and include the following information: a) Name of the person or legal entity; b) Identity card number or corporate identification number; c) Name and identity card number of the corporation’s legal representative; d) Legal domicile of the service provider; e) Province, canton and district where the property is located; f) Exact address of the property; g) Number of rooms; h) the Maximum number of guests; i) Electronic means to receive notifications; j) Web page and k) Phone number.

The information must be filled out accurately and correctly, for the process to be approved promptly as it will be subject to revision. Prior to the completion of the form, user registration is required. Keep in mind this is a legal administrative process subject to formal approval; hence, appeal recourses may need to be filed. Don’t let just anyone process it for you.

What are the minimum conditions short term rental services must comply with? To operate the following conditions must be met: a) Periodic cleaning of the facility; b) Provide sanitary services for personal hygiene, including at least a bathroom and toilet; c) Maintenance of the facilities; d) Minimum sanitary and hygienic conditions and e) Provide the necessary containers for the separation and management of solid waste

Are there any tax obligations derived from the enactment of this new regulation? It is necessary and mandatory to register as a tax contributor with the Tax Ministry, issue electronic invoices, and retain monthly accounting services for payment of taxes and filing tax returns.

Are there any zoning restrictions to operate short-term rentals? Non-traditional lodgings and short-term rentals will be able to operate in residential zones, eliminating the commercial license requirement.

Are there any legal repercussions for non-compliance with this newly created regulation? Pursuing this business activity without being duly registered before the Registry of Borrowers and Non-Traditional Lodging Service Commercialization or Intermediary Companies, is illegal. The Tax Ministry, Municipalities, and Health Ministry will intervene and sanctions will be imposed for non-compliance.

At Quatro Legal, we’re glad to assist you with the registry process and provide you the legal advice you need. For more information reach out to Gonzalo Rojas at grb@quatro.legal or Ileana Fernandez at ifm@quatro.legal .

For more useful information visit us at THE QUATRO LEGAL GUIDE at quatro.legal

Posted by January 26, 2021 Migration No Comments

Thinking of moving to Costa Rica with your pets?

By Carlos Escobar

Without a doubt, traveling or moving abroad, although it can be a beautiful and great adventure, always brings stress. In my case, I was born in El Salvador and when I left my country more than five years ago, leaving my pets behind was my great nightmare. This situation is shared by a large number of foreigners who must give them away or leave them under the trust of a friend or relative. However, this does not have to be the case, since Costa Rica allows the entry of pets from abroad, if the requirements needed by law are met.

First of all, we must understand that the importation of pets is a process that involves the regulations of two countries: the exporting country (where your pet comes from) and the importing country (the country where your pet arrives). That means that the owner has to obtain all the needed documentation from the exporting country to comply with the requirements requested in the importing country, since, otherwise, your pet will not be able to leave the country or, worse, enter the new destination.

In Costa Rica, you need the International Health Certificate (IHC). This certificate is an internationally recognized document, for which the accredited veterinarians or the competent health authority of the exporting country indicate that they have checked your pet for any diseases and is up-to-date with its vaccinations. The credentials required of the issuing veterinarian depend on the species of animal being exported. This certificate must meet certain requirements so that the Costa Rican authorities can accept it, therefore, much attention must be paid to how the authorities of the exporting country issue said certificate, to ensure that it is admitted in Costa Rica.

In general, IHC’s have to meet the following requirements:

  1. Be translated into Spanish.
  2. State that the pets were examined two weeks prior to the date of travel.
  3. State that they are in good health.
  4. State that they are not carriers of any disease or parasite that may cause harm in the place of destination.
  5. State that that they have the corresponding vaccines (this varies depending on the type of pet).

It is also important to add that due to the Wild Animals Conservation Law in Costa Rica, animals considered wild under our legislation cannot enter the country as pets. Other requirements are applicable in this case.

Following the due requirements and formalities, the IHC will allow you to enter the country with your pets and share with them the wonderful adventure that is traveling to Costa Rica.

At Quatro Legal we understand that pets are also members of the family, therefore, we advise for the importing process of your pets to our beautiful country.

Got questions? We have answers. Feel free to contact Gonzalo Rojas, partner of Quatro Legal, at grb@quatro.legal or call +5064350-0501.

 

Posted by January 19, 2021 Taxes No Comments

Capital gains tax on real estate transactions: things you need to know!

Over the last few months, Quatro Legal’s real estate department has been constantly getting questions and concerns from property owners, investors and realtors, about the impact of the capital gains tax on their investments, as well as the process to complete its filing. Moreover, the Tax Agency has been actively reaching out to Public Notaries and Sellers inquiring about the capital gains filing – or lack of filing to be precise. I have noticed that not everyone understands how this tax works and have decided to avoid it. However, defaulting on the payment of a tax is always a bad idea.

Therefore, based on my experience in the real estate market and the most frequent questions I get on this matter, I came up with the following Q&A on how the capital gains tax works on a real estate transaction. Hopefully, this will orient all readers and make real estate transactions a lot smoother.

When did the capital gains tax come into effect? With the enactment of Law 9365, “For the Strengthening of Public Finances”, as of July 1st, 2019, a capital gains tax was created, which levies capital gains on movable and immovable property. This has a huge effect on real estate transactions and real estate investments!

How is this tax calculated? A capital gain arises from the difference between the value of an asset at the time of purchase and the asset’s value at the time of sale. If this value is positive, said amount should be subject to a 15% tax. To calculate the amount of capital gain, owners must consider the purchase value of the asset plus the value of the investments and improvements made to it minus its sales value. If the resulting amount is positive, the tax rate must be applied to the resulting difference and the tax return must be filed and paid.

The formula looks like this:

(Purchase price + value of the investments and improvements – sales value) * 15% = Capital Gain Tax

Are there any exceptions to avoid payment of 15% capital gains tax a on real estate transaction? For real estate transactions, the law provides two exceptions to avoid the payment of the 15% of capital gains tax:

  1. “Home exception”: If the property being sold is the Seller´s primary residence or home, Seller may apply for this exception and be exempt from payment of capital gains tax. For these purposes, according to Law 9365 and its regulations, a “primary residence” is the property where the Seller resides. The tax administration has established that the property shall have as primary purpose to safeguard, feed, protect, serve as home and be inhabited regularly by the owner. It is not relevant whether or not the property is registered on a personal or corporate name; however, in this second case, the corporation must be owned by the occupants. The “Home exception” does not apply to commercial real estate and maybe questionable for homes or residences that are leased to third parties as part of economic or business activities and that is not regularly inhabited by the owner.

If the property is owned by a “non-domiciled” person, either physical person or corporation, such as a foreign corporation, trust or any kind of legal entity, not duly and legally domiciled in Costa Rica, at the time of sale, the Buyer must retain 2.5% of the price of the property and ensure that any capital gains tax is covered and paid by filing the property tax return to the Tax Agency. Public Notaries shall be obligated to confirm this as part of their obligations to register any property transfer deed in the National Registry.

Law 9365 considers as domiciled person all foreign persons that spend more than 183 days in Costa Rica regardless if the person enters and leaves Costa Rica.

Costa Rican corporations duly registered at the National Registry represented or owned by foreigners are considered domiciled in Costa Rica.

  1. “One-time exemption”: Another option is for Sellers that owned property before the law came into effect on July 01st 2019, to opt to use a one-time exception by which the Seller shall pay 2.25% on the purchase and sale price by filing the property tax return and making the payment to the Tax Agency.

The formula looks like this:

Purchase price * 2.25% = Capital Gain Tax

 How are capital gains filed and paid?

This tax must be filed and paid by the Seller. The process of filing and paying – or not paying – the capital gains tax implies proper legal and tax advice, since non-payment or incorrect payment may imply sanctions by the tax administration. Also, since it must be done through the ATV (“Administración Tributaria Virtual”) tax agency platform, a user identification number and password must be obtained by the owner to access the ATV Platform. This information may only be obtained by the owner of the property in case of physical persons and the legal representative in case of corporations.

Once access to the ATV platform has been obtained, preparing, filing and paying the capital gains tax must be done via the D-162 form which is hosted on the ATV platform. The D-162 form requests general information of the tax contributor, the property and the amounts indicated above. Once the form is uploaded, it can be paid through any banking platform or directly at the bank with the owner’s identification number.

The D-162 form must be filed before the first 15 natural calendar days of the following month after the purchase was consummated by the owner. Therefore, if the property was bought in January, the Seller has until February 15th to file the D-162 form.

It is important to understand that the non-compliance of these obligations implies paying sanctions ranging from one base salary (about $800) to 1% of the owned amount calculated each month, or fraction of months.

Got questions? We have answers. Feel free to contact Gonzalo Rojas, partner of Quatro Legal, at grb@quatro.legal or call (506)4350-0501.

Posted by January 14, 2021 laboral No Comments

Aprobada Ley para Ampliación que autoriza la Reducción de Jornadas de Trabajo.

La Asamblea Legislativa aprobó en segundo debate el proyecto de ley número 22.265 que amplia el plazo que autoriza la reducción de jornadas de trabajo, ante la declaratoria de emergencia nacional. Este se encuentra en espera de firma del Presidente y su publicación en el diario oficial, La Gaceta.

Mediante esta ley número 9937, se adiciona un transitorio a la Ley número 9832 del 21 de marzo del 2020, que autorizó la reducción unilateral de jornadas de trabajo, para aquellas empresas que demostraran una afectación en sus ingresos  como consecuencia de la Declaratoria de Emergencia Nacional, producto del COVID-19.

Esta ley faculta una prórroga, por un único período igual adicional al establecido en el artículo 5 de la Ley 9832, sea, de hasta 3 meses.

El Ministerio de Trabajo autorizará la reducción de jornada cuando:

  • Se cumplan los requisitos de ley**
  • El empleador no haya abusado de los mecanismos establecidos en la ley o incurrido en incumplimientos de la legislación laboral.
  • El empleador haya sostenido el empleo de las personas sujetas a reducción de jornada a quienes se pretende ampliar el plazo.
  • Se demuestren las condiciones actuales de afectación.

Si se autoriza, al empleador le queda prohibido:

  • Establecer horarios fraccionados a la persona sujeta a reducción.
  • Si la reducción es a un porcentaje de personas trabajadoras, no podrá pagar horas extra a personas trabajadoras que mantenga en la empresa, sino que deberá reincorporar a la persona con la jornada reducida que requiera.

Como verá, deja varios vacíos la norma. Ya estamos haciendo las consultas pertinentes con el MTSS.

Les recordamos que, los requisitos establecidos por la ley** y que no sufrieron variación son:

  • Demostrar un afectación en los ingresos de por lo menos un 20%, en relación con el mismo mes del año anterior.
  • La disminución en el ingreso podrá comprobarse mediante (i) declaración jurada suscrita por el representante legal de la empresa y autenticada por un abogado o (ii) por una certificación de contador público autorizado, que podrán ser remitidas digitalmente.
  • Cuando autoridad competente ordene cierre, disminución de sus operaciones o de su ocupación, bastará con que se acredite la existencia de dicha orden ante la Inspección. Sobre este punto nosotros recomendamos presentar igualmente la declaración jurada pues hay inspectores que desconocen esta disposición y al no ver la declaración jurada previenen su ausencia y atrasan la solicitud, también, presentamos la orden de Salud, cuando existe alguna relacionada con los motivos anteriores.
  • No aplicará esta medida para trabajadoras embarazadas o en período de lactancia. Para los demás fueros de protección sólo procederá cuando se establezca la medida para al menos el 90% del personal de la empresa.

Quedamos a sus órdenes en caso que deseen que les ayudemos, a tramitar este beneficio en sus empresas, puede contactarnos al correo mav@quatro.legal para recibir asesoría y una cotización por nuestro servicio.

Departamento de Derecho Laboral de Quatro Legal

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